


Let Go

by ALTsvtsector123



Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)
Genre: Feelings, OT23 in our hearts, post-ILAND finale, some sad stuff but mostly happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:54:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26711002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALTsvtsector123/pseuds/ALTsvtsector123
Summary: ENHYPEN, that was their group name. They have reached their dreams of debuting. But why do the tears never seem to stop falling?“We have to keep going forward, to keep looking forward. Let go of the painful feelings of saying goodbye to our friends. Remember and treasure the great, happy memories we made with them. Someday, in the near future, they will have reached their dreams as well. And then, together, we will stand on the same stage and have fun once again, just like we once had.”
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Let Go

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I've watched every episode of I-Land (though I watched Ep 1 late), seen most of the I-Land Cams, and am most probably going to stan ENHYPEN. Through watching the show, even though I do have a bias, I learnt to care for every trainee, all 23 of them.
> 
> Since it was a survival show, I knew that some people would not make it -- thankfully, my bias did, but that's not the same situation for some people out there. But I just wanted to think about the trainees themselves. How did the 7 feel when they were announced as part of ENHYPEN? What did they feel about those who did not make it?
> 
> So, I found myself wanting to write about it.  
> The story might be quite rushed, and I'm sorry about my average writing skills, but I do hope you'll enjoy it >~<  
> Here you go~
> 
> Oh, and I'll use their stage names since I still have to get used to their Korean names (^-^;)

7 boys entered a newly furnished dorm. There was a similar bittersweet feeling in all of their hearts.

“... So…” Jay started, as they all squeezed on the couch in the living room, their luggage forgotten by the door. “What do you guys want to do now?”

“We have to unpack soon,” Heeseung said. The others nodded along with him. Yet, none of them showed any sign of moving. They were still adapting to their new life. They would be debuting. They even had their own dorm now.

“I… I’m sorry,” Sunoo whispered after a moment of silence. He was feeling depressed, so unlike his usual cheery self. Even he wasn’t sure if he had ever been this sad ever since he was born.

_ He _ had been the producers’ pick, not K, not Daniel, and he didn’t know whether he could be happy about it.  _ Why _ did they choose him? He had been so sure that they would have chosen K or Daniel over him. He felt bad, like he had taken the space of someone who deserved it more than him.

“What are you sorry for?” Ni-ki croaked out. His voice had become hoarse from too much crying. He, as well as everyone in the room, was heartbroken by the results. It was just too much. They had lost their greatest, reliable hyung and kind, cheerful maknae. The two of them had been  _ so close _ , but those two hadn’t reached their dream of debuting. Not like they have.

“Yeah, you don’t have to be sorry,” Sunghoon mumbled. “It isn’t your fault.”

“But… K-hyung…” Sunoo felt tears in his eyes again as he thought about the elder, who had comforted them before their last OT22 Into the I-Land performance. “Doesn’t he deserve this more than me?”

“That’s nonsense,” Jay stated at once. Sunoo gaped at the Korean-American. “You cried the most because he didn’t debut! And I broke the promise you two made!” he exclaimed.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Jay protested. “It isn’t anyone’s fault. You deserve to debut as well. Don’t you dare say you don’t deserve to be here. We all have the same dreams. We all deserve to debut. It just… It’s just that K-hyung and Daniel haven’t gotten their happy ending yet. But they will... They  _ will _ debut because I know for sure they won’t rest until they do. K-hyung told me that specifically.”

“I agree with Jay,” Heeseung said softly. He placed his hand over Sunoo’s, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “They’re still running for their dreams. They will debut sooner or later. They’re too talented not to. Keep your head up. We’re all the same. You deserve to be here, Sunoo-ya.”

“Yeah,” Jake chimed in quietly. “Plus, K-hyung wouldn’t like it if you were blaming yourself over him not debuting. Daniel too.” 

Jungwon nodded. “We're here now, we'll be debuting, so cheer up, Sunoo-hyung. But of course, we'll miss them. We’ll miss all of them, including the others.” By the “others”, he meant the ones who had been eliminated as well. The ones who had come back to cheer for them. The friends that they would never forget.

As Jungwon said that, the atmosphere became a bit sadder. They were all remembering the times that they had spent together.

“You didn’t have to remind us about them,” Sunoo whined, feeling slightly better after his friends’ — no, his group members’, they were a group now,  _ family _ — reassurance.

“Ah, sorry,” Jungwon apologised, giggling sheepishly. “But really, we won’t ever forget about them. We won’t forget what we’ve learnt throughout I-Land, the friends we’ve made, everything. We will miss them.”

Jay smiled at his dongsaeng’s words. “Yeah, I agree. We’ll miss them a lot.”

Ni-ki took that chance to speak. “Especially Jay. He was full of tears just now, wasn’t he? His make-up wasn’t waterproof and he looked like a ghost after crying so much.” No one minded the fact that the new maknae of the group had just called Jay informally. It happened all the time.

At that, Heeseung immediately mimicked Jay’s iconic crying scene. “He was crying like this all the way as we said goodbye to the others.”

The room was filled with the first signs of laughter.

“Yah! Really!” Jay groaned, though a smile was present on his face. He was fine with being the comedic relief that they needed, especially at this stressful time. If it made his friends laugh, then sure, he didn’t mind being teased by them. They were his friends, after all. He’d do anything for them to be happy.

After the fit of laughter, a more comfortable, easygoing atmosphere filled the living room.

“We have to learn to let go,” Heeseung said quietly after a while. At his groupmates’ curious glances, he explained himself further. “I don’t mean that we have to forget them. That’s impossible, like what Jungwonie said we will _never_ forget the memories we made in I-Land. And we definitely don’t want to forget them. We just have to…” He struggled for the right words to say.

The others waited patiently for their wise hyung’s next words.

Finally, Heeseung opened his mouth once again. “We have to keep going forward, to keep looking forward. Let go of the painful feelings of saying goodbye to our friends. Remember and treasure the great, happy memories we made with them. Someday, in the near future, they will have reached their dreams as well. And then, together, we will stand on the same stage and have fun once again, just like we once had.”

A beat of silence passed. Then, slowly, Jay started clapping. The others followed suit.

“Stop clapping,” Heeseung said, but he was blushing and the small smile on his face said otherwise.

“You’re really wise, hyung,” Sunoo commented lovingly. “Really, I’ve said it before, but you really are an angel.”

“Oh, stop it.”

The room was filled with cheerful laughter once again.

After the conversation, their worries were mostly eased. After all, the end of the survival show didn’t necessarily mean that it was the end of the ones who did not make it.

The others were still running for their dreams and they would not stop until they reached it. The ENHYPEN members knew that.

“... Then,” Sunghoon said softly. “Shall we start unpacking?”

Jay groaned. The others chuckled.

Heeseung stood up, and the others had no choice but to follow suit. 

“Let’s start!”

Their journey has started. All that was left was to work hard and wait for their friends.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it. Thanks for taking the time to read this \\(^v^)/ Have a nice day~


End file.
